2014 Hyundai Genesis sedan revealed

South Korean brand considering luxury sedan for Australian market.

This is the car Hyundai hopes will change the way Australians look at the brand forever.

The South Korean manufacturer has revealed a pair of official images of its Genesis luxury sedan just days after a leaked image of the car embarrassingly surfaced on a car blog.

The next-generation Genesis sedan will be a luxury offering that could come to Australia as a rival to the likes of Lexusand Infiniti. Hyundai Australia claims the business case for the car is currently under review but if it does bring the Genesis sedan, it would likely appear as early as 2014.

The new Genesis has a look that is a significant departure from Hyundai's current range, with an imposing, authoritative front fascia that has a similar appearance to Audi?s single-frame grille.

Hyundai is moving up in the world, and is in the process of changing its image from being value-driven to matching the quality customers expect from rivals built in Europe and Japan.

The next Genesis will offer a new all-wheel-drive system dubbed HTRAC, or Hyundai Traction. It electronically splits torque between the front and rear axles, and can either be controlled by computers, or allow customers to tailor their driving experience.

Hyundai has been testing its new system at the Nurburgring, and it could become a feature of high-performance models set to be launched under a new sub-brand similar to Holden?s HSV.

If the current Genesis sedan is anything to go by, the next model will be richly appointed, offering value to tempt buyers out of a base-model European luxury sedans.

The top-spec V8-powered Genesis is priced on parity with the four-cylinder BMW 528i in North America, which translates to less than $100,000 if the same pricing strategy carries over locally.

But previously Hyundai has indicated that the Genesis range would likely top out in the $60,000 range

Hyundai sold the rear-wheel-drive Genesis Coupe with V6 or turbocharged four-cylinder engines in several overseas markets, but the car was not made available locally because it is only built in left-hand-drive.